Steve Smith, better known as Stevil Kinevil, has been working in the bike industry for over two decades. In that time he’s been everything from a warehouse shipper to bike messenger to pro circuit mechanic to product tester. For the last 10 years of that he’s been chronicling his exploits in bikes, art, music, and drinking … first on Swobo’s How To Avoid The Bummer Life blog and now on his website All Hail The Black Market. Stevil’s experience gives him a long perspective on how the bike industry and bike world is changing for better or worse.

In 1928, five African American women set off from New York City on a 250 mile adventure to Washington D.C. Their three day ride was about personal pleasure and challenge and calls into question our ideas of who bicycled in history and why.

Thank you to historian Marya McQuirter for her deep insight into the 1928 ride. Thank you to Liz Jose for sharing her experience with touring from NYC to DC.

Lael Wilcox may not yet be a household name in the cycling world, but with wins and records in super long distance, self-supported bikepacking races such as TransAmerica and the Tour Divide, she will be soon. In this special episode of The Bicycle Story podcast, I interviewed Lael about her victory at TransAm, what it’s like to race across the country in 18 days, her roots as a dirtbag world adventurer, breaking into the mainstream, and more.

Bike theft is a growing issue in big bike cities. In Seattle, three times as many bikes were stolen last year than in 2008. In this episode of The Bicycle Story, we explore the problem, the police’s often lackluster response, how advocates are working to fight theft, and the sometimes crazy and dangerous lengths people go to get their bikes back. Thanks to Max Wigley, Brock Howell of Bicycle Security Advocates and Tom Fucoloro of Seattle Bike Blog for their sharing their insight.

With seemingly more coverage of the issue recently than ever, women’s fight for an equal place in bike racing kind of feels like a modern phenomenon. But women have been fighting for the right to race bikes for nearly the entirety of bike racing history. In the late 1800s, a young Swedish immigrant named Tillie Anderson joined that fight and quickly became the star of American cycling with a nearly flawless record and the world champion title to her name.